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Final Predictions for the St. Louis Cardinals Trade Deadline Moves

By Josh Jacobs |
ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 26: Oliver Marmol #37 of the St. Louis Cardinals walks toward the pitchers mound during the fifth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on June 26, 2022 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Kane/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 26: Oliver Marmol #37 of the St. Louis Cardinals walks toward the pitchers mound during the fifth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on June 26, 2022 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Kane/Getty Images)
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The Trade Deadline is just days away, and here are the final predictions for who the St. Louis Cardinals do and don’t make a move for.

With the MLB trade deadline just days away, the St. Louis Cardinals appear to be in on so many different players, and there are a variety of ways their deadline moves could play out.

The biggest name right now appears to be the Washington Nationals’ Juan Soto, who could provide a generational bat for the Cardinals lineup at a historic cost. The Cardinals are now one of the finalists for Soto, which could transform not only this deadline for the club, but the rest of the decade.

On the starting pitching front, Frankie Montas seems to be the prime target for St. Louis at the moment, and they are reportedly in talks with Oakland at the moment. Other names like Noah Syndergaard, Pablo Lopez, Tarik Skubal, and other top level arms.

One potential wild card that has been thrown into the mix in recent days in Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, who could be the best of both worlds for St. Louis, a generational arm and bat all wrapped into one. If Ohtani talks begin to heat up more, St. Louis has one of the best packages that anyone can offer.

On top of all of these moves, the Cardinals probably need to add some smaller names to fill out the pitching depth on this roster, meaning we could see the club make multiple moves before August 2nd to prepare for their stretch run.

While it is hard to nail down exactly what the club will do, here are my final predictions for what the Cardinals will do to improve at the trade deadline.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals at bat against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning at Dodger Stadium on July 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals at bat against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning at Dodger Stadium on July 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) /

The Cardinals narrowly miss out on Juan Soto

While I would not be surprised if the club ends up with Soto in the next few days, signs point to the San Diego Padres moving heaven and earth to acquire the superstar.

Buster Olney has reported that rival executives believe the Padres will land Soto, and history would show that San Diego’s GM A.J. Preller is capable of such a move. The Padres also appear much more motivated to acquire Soto, willing to sacrifice the farm system for a chance at him.

The Cardinals are clearly major players for Soto, but John Mozeliak knows that for as good of a talent the 23 year old is, giving away all of the Cardinals top assets is risky business. The Cardinals have a history of contention year in and year out, because they develop top level talent and make shrewd moves in the trade market, even for superstars. Mozeliak is willing to give up more than he ever has for Soto, but not everything.

The Padres, on the other hand, have pressure to win right now, and would be willing to mortgage the future to do so. I believe the Cardinals’ final offer will be deemed worth by the Nationals of a Juan Soto trade, but then the Padres will come in with everything they have, and get the deal done. Although it would sting to come in second for Soto, missing out on him and not overpaying will probably pay off long term.

If San Diego stays disciplined though, Soto may be flying home with the Cardinals after their series with the Nationals.

OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 23: Frankie Montas #47 of the Oakland Athletics pitches during the game against the Seattle Mariners at RingCentral Coliseum on June 23, 2022 in Oakland, California. The Mariners defeated the Athletics 2-1. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 23: Frankie Montas #47 of the Oakland Athletics pitches during the game against the Seattle Mariners at RingCentral Coliseum on June 23, 2022 in Oakland, California. The Mariners defeated the Athletics 2-1. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /

The Cardinals bring in Frankie Montas

Where there is smoke, there is usually fire. For as hot as the talks for Soto have been, the Cardinals are as frequently mentioned as a destination for the A’s Frankie Montas, and I predict he will be dawning the Birds on the Bat by August 2nd.

Montas has been a long rumored target for St. Louis, and his mix of team control and elite pitching ability should drive Mozeliak to get the deal done. In 2022, Montas has a 3.18 ERA in 104.2 innings of work, and he finished 6th in the AL Cy Young voting last season. Montas’ shoulder injury complicates things for sure, but St. Louis continues to discuss a deal with Oakland. 

Although pivoting to Syndergaard, Lopez, or Skubal could be in the cards, Montas has been the heaviest linked to St. Louis. Skubal provides more control but isn’t quite the pitcher Montas is, Lopez appears to be too high of an asking price, and Syndergaard has not been himself this year.

Getting Montas from the A’s will likely require a center piece of Nolan Gorman or Maysn Winn, but with those injury concerns, perhaps the club can acquire him with a mix of Alec Burleson, Matthew Liberatore, and others.

No matter who the Cardinals acquire as their “big arm”, which I do expect they grab one of the bigger names, they likely will grab some insurance as well.

DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 15: Starting pitcher Jose Quintana #62 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws against the Colorado Rockies in the fourth inning at Coors Field on July 15, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 15: Starting pitcher Jose Quintana #62 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws against the Colorado Rockies in the fourth inning at Coors Field on July 15, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

The Cardinals fill out their rotation as well

Yes, St. Louis needs top end pitching to matchup with some of the best teams in the National League, but they also desperately need other arms as well who can help save the bullpen form the extreme pressure they’ve been under to this point.

I would be extremely surprised if this is the biggest move St. Louis makes, but it is needed in order to get this club into October baseball. Some potential names that could fit this mold for St. Louis includes Jose Quintana, Madison Bumgarner, Merrill Kelly, and Zach Plesac.

I’ll predict the Cardinals grab Quintana in exchange for 1-2 of the likes of Luken Baker, Jonathan Mejia, Alec Willis, and Moises Gomez.

Quintana, coming over from Pittsburgh, would be a quality innings eater for the club, which will be critical for the club making the playoffs. Even just 5 quality innings from start to start would allow St. Louis to let their bullpen breathe, and could improve the production of the enitre pitching staff.

Next. Cardinals Finalists for Soto. dark

If the Cardinals do grab Soto, they may look to make two of these kind of pitching moves to find more innings, and even could if they acquire a front line starter like Montas. The Cardinals really only have three reliable starters healthy in Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, and Andre Pallante, so grabbing multiple arms would go a long way.

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